A Step-By-Step Guide To Catching Up On Your Bookkeeping

A Step-By-Step Guide To Catching Up On Your Bookkeeping

Tax season can be tough, but organized bookkeeping always helps! Getting your books tax-ready ensures you’re compliant with the IRS recordkeeping requirements, meaning no late fees, no surprises, and a successful tax return that won’t cost you extra time later on (we know you’re busy). 

This step-by-step guide will help you get through your bookkeeping backlog in no time!

 

Step 1: Collect Receipts & Invoices

Start by collecting all receipts and invoices related to your business expenses. There are many different types, so we’ll outline the most important ones. 

Customer Invoices

Review your customer accounts and double check that you’ve collected all customer invoices for the tax year. Depending on whether you’re using a cash or accrual method, you’ll record these differently. 

Debt Collections

Review your customer accounts for any bad debt expenses. In order to deduct the cost of bad debt from your tax return, you will need to prove to the IRS that you have taken reasonable steps to collect the debt. Bad debts can be claimed by using either the specific charge-off method or the nonaccrual experience method

Business Expenses

Collect receipts from all business purchases you have made during the tax year. Use this handy list of small business tax deductionsto double check that you’re tracking and claiming every deduction available to your business—because who doesn’t love saving on taxes?

Vendor Accounts

Review your vendor accounts to ensure that you have paid them all in full. Make sure you have a copy of every bill from each vendor activity and, if you don’t, contact the vendor and ask them to send you a copy.

Important to note: Vendor accounts include bills for business activities that are still currently operating in your business’s closing period.

 

Step 2: Reconcile Your Bank Records

Reconciling your bank records accomplishes two things: 1) It ensures you don’t miss any business expenses or important records from Step 1, and 2) It helps you catch any mistakes your bank may have made.

You can do this by comparing each transaction from your bank statement with the same transaction in your company accounting records. If the transactions don’t match, identify and fix any errors to ensure they balance out.

 

Step 3: Separate Personal and Business Expenses

Keeping your personal and business expenses in the same account is known as piercing the corporate veil—which may result in you being held personally liable for your business’s debt and actions. The sooner you separate your business and personal expenses, the better. Learn how to open a small business bank account and keep your finances separate.  

If you’re unsure about whether a purchase qualifies as a deductible business expense, learn how the IRS differentiates personal and business expenses.

 

Step 4: Create Digital Records

If you haven’t done so already, there are countless benefits to making your business paperless. As you process your paperwork, create digital records of receipts and important documents. Here are a few of our favorite tools to help you go paperless:

 

Step 5: Submit Forms for Contractors & Employees

If you paid independent contractors and/or employees during the tax year, there’s a good chance you’ll need to file the following forms:

Independent Contractors: Form W-9 & Form 1099-MISC

If you paid an independent contractor more than $600 for work during the year, you’ll need to submit a Form W-9 and a Form 1099-MISC. A W-9 requests a contractor’s taxpayer information. The contractor completes this and returns it to you. You then use the information on the contractor’s W9 to issue a 1099 to the IRS. If you’re new to the process, and unfamiliar with the deadlines, read How (and When) to File a 1099 first. 

Employees: Form W-2

You’re required to file Form W-2 for all employees.

 

Step 6: Review Your Books With a Professional 

Our last tip for bookkeeping might be the most important! When you’re a small business, doing it yourself is often the least expensive option. But tax professionals can help eliminate errors, help you claim all of the deductions available to your business—which may end up saving you money in the long run—and can also represent you in the event of an audit. Developing a relationship with a financial pro, well before you need their help, will prevent last-minute scrambling and bring you peace of mind that your books are in order.

 

Need more resources about bookkeeping and business? Find more on our blog here! To learn more about Magi aka The Artists’ Lawyer, browse her site here!

Welcome!

Hi there! Welcome to my free resources page, where I share all kinds of freebies, templates and guides for creative business owners, artists, and entrepreneurs.

If we haven't met yet, hi! I'm Magi. I'm lawyer, educator, photographer, storyteller, traveler, and entrepreneur. My journey has taken her from photographing professional surfers while swimming in some of the world's most epic waves to receiving a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers Law.

If I'm not photographing a wedding with my husband, Scott, in a remote locale, managing our team of Associate Photographers, or providing legal counsel to creative business owners, then you can probably find me eating an açai bowl, chasing my pup, Arti, around the beach, or watching SVU reruns in our bungalow.

I hope you find these intentionally-crafted resources useful, and if there's anything else I can do for you and your business, please reach out!


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This information is made available for educational and general informational purposes only; it is not legal advice for an individual case nor does it guarantee any future result. This material may be improved upon or updated without notice, and The Artists’ Lawyer will not be held responsible for any outcomes as a result of this education. Do not act upon this information without seeking individual advice from a lawyer licensed in your state. You understand that viewing this information does not establish an attorney-client relationship between you and The Artists’ Lawyer, or the founding attorney, Magi Fisher.

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